The Boy Who Cried Wolf
by Queen Nightingale
Summary: "We loved you," James says quietly, staring intensely at you as you break down into sobs, "I loved you. He lied." JPLE Oneshot.


**THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF.**

Author: Queen Nightingale

Rating: M (Swearing)

Pairing: JPLE/SSLE

* * *

><p>You never liked to think about how heartbreaking he was.<p>

You didn't enjoy commenting on his thick, wavy black hair like the other girls – his round glasses – his tight physique and broad shoulders. You never glanced at his slightly freckled nose, his tanned arms, his delicious puffy lips. You didn't, because you knew that you could never have him.

* * *

><p>"Look at ickle bickle Lilykins," Sirius says, gliding into the empty Charms around your chair, smirking at your rapidly reddening cheeks, "Come back from a make-out session with the swine known as Snivellus?"<p>

You toss your luxurious red hair over your shoulder in a way that reminds you of Cruella da Vil, and glare at him.

"You wish, Black."

Behind him, your eyes catch on a hazel pair, and your breath catches momentarily in your throat as you quickly take in how good his clothes look on him.

"Come on, Padfoot," Potter says, barely glancing at you in disdain, "Girls who love boys that hate them aren't worth our time."

Your teeth clench involuntarily, and you despise him in that moment. His apathy, his sense of pride, his cockiness and bravado that stab you over and over with a thousand needles – and fuck it, the fact that you can't lie about his attractiveness.

"You're a piece of _shit_, Potter," you quickly fling back at him, wanting anything but the cruel boredom that he always approaches you with, "You wouldn't know true friendship and happiness if it stood in front of you."

"True friendship?" (_Fuck_, you think in your head desperately, now Sirius' pissed off too.)

"You are in a downward spiralling relationship with a boy who openly calls you a mudblood behind your back," James says angrily, his hand inching towards his wand in his pack, "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are to comment on _friendship_?"

And you're up in a flash, wand drawn, and before you realize what you're doing you've shot him against the wall with a fierce Stupefy(!), and Sirius is _roaring _at you, towering over your figure as he wakes up James, and you're striding over to his crumpled large form, and _screaming_.

"He _loves_ me, you bloody prick, and I'm oh-so-sorry" you dramatically drawl "that you will never be half the man that he is. You pick on him, you _tease_ him - "

"Lily!" Sirius is yelling in your ear, but you try to tune him out, focusing on Potter who is glaring at you from his position on the ground, "You're _fucking _insane, Lily! Don't you know what he is?"

You turn back to Potter, your wand in hand shakily pointed at his face.

"Well, _James_," you reply, cruelly accentuating his name, watching his face contort as you mock him, "what is he, then? What _is_ Severus?"

You see something flash across his face, and you're startled by the surge of anger that you feel in response. You're about to utter another curse, maybe the horrible one that Severus showed you he made, but suddenly you're thrown against the wall as a loud, angry voice with a heavy Scottish accent speaks.

"What exactly do you think the three of you are doing?" McGonagall strides into the room, looking as if hellfire is on her tail. Sirius slumps to the ground in a dramatic heap, rolling his eyes to the heaven, as he awaits her next comment.

"Detention!"

You realize, when you're cleaning the Potions cabinet by yourself at night, that Potter had _pitied_ you.

You drop your head, clenching the dirty rag that Filch gave you, and try to not collapse.

* * *

><p>It's the next Hogsmeade weekend, and you're standing by the gates, eagerly careening around, trying to spot Severus, who promised you that he'd meet you here so you could hang out.<p>

"Waiting on your shining prince, Lilykins?" a voice says close to your ear, and you turn around to glare at two tall boys, one of them sneering at you in a decidedly Slytherin fashion.

"Go circle jerk or something, Sirius," you retort, ignoring them and swivelling around.

You hear James chuckle, and with your comment, Sirius lets out a loud, barking laugh and retreats with his best friend.

"Lily?"

You turn around delightedly and look into the eyes of Severus, who is coolly glancing behind you with a gaze reminiscent of redemption.

"Were those two bothering you?"

"Whatever," you say nonchalantly, suddenly linking your arm into his and looking up at his tall and lanky frame, "They're gone now. Two twats, nothing more."

Severus' face lights up a little, and you smile delightedly at him as he starts walking forward, leading you around the different crowds of students.

"So where shall we go today, ma'am?" he asks you, as you skip along beside him.

"I need some new quills, good sir," you adopt a snarky accent, making him smirk at you, "So if you could take me to the Quill Shop that would be much appreciated."

"For you, Lily, anything."

* * *

><p>You're contentedly sipping on a cooled butterbeer, lying a ways out from Hogsmeade on a mound at the edge of a farmer's field, Severus lying beside you in calm contemplative silence, your arms touching.<p>

"Isn't this fantastic," you comment after a while, your eyes wide and drinking in the sight of the clear blue sky with puffs of white, "It's so nice that it's nearly springtime again."

"Nearly being the key word," Severus replies, drawling sarcastically and eyeing up the dirt that you both are clearly lying in, "You know, I have a feeling that this might just be hardened manure."

You turn your head and make a face at him, Severus laughing at your mock-horrified expression. It's a sound that's been dying from him recently, and you're a bit surprised at the waves of relief that swell over you when you hear his glee.

"So how are things with the Gryffindorks?" Severus asks too casually, and you feel your ears perk up at the mention of your house.

"Oh don't start with them, Severus," you sigh exasperatedly, dramatically motioning to the sky around you, "It's too beautiful for a fight."

He snorts and shifts a bit, his arm never leaving contact with yours.

"I'm just saying, Potter and Black seem even more evil than usual."

"Just the regular shit that they're spewing out, nothing else," you comment, closing your eyes and basking in the sun rays gleaming down on you.

Severus pauses, and you can feel through contact with him that his body is more tense than ever.

"Lily, you know that in order for me to be a member of my house, given my" you feel a slight shudder of disgust wrack through his body "blood status, it was very difficult to fit in. This means that I had to sometimes make some decisions which weren't the best."

You pause, freezing a bit, turning your head to glance at his profile, his jagged cheekbones and wispy hair.

"But you don't actually believe in it, do you?" you ask him quietly, turning your body so that you're snuggled against him, Severus staring blankly up at the sky.

He speaks so quietly that you can barely hear him.

"I'm trying not to."

You bend your head down so that it nestles in the crook of his shoulder, and inhale desperately. For some strange reason, you're close to tears.

* * *

><p>"Let's leave here," you say suddenly, after a couple minutes of silence, Severus just staring sullenly up at the sky, you curled around his rigid body, "Now. Just go, not run away – I'm not talking about that – but leave the Hogsmeade trip. Let's just go walking or something."<p>

Severus turns to look down at you, your eyes wide and glistening a bit.

"Yeah, why not?" he replies, a touch of a grin repainting itself on his face, as you sit up and stretch, "Oh wait, that's right, we'd be expelled. The Hogsmeade trip is only supposed to go to Hogsmeade."

"Well we've already broken that rule," you retort, rolling your eyes at him and grabbing his hands (which you notice are oh-too-smooth and seemingly crafted of glazed spiderwebs), pulling him upright where he nearly stumbles over you, "Might as well continue."

"So where are we walking to?" he asks as you both continue down the country road, you glancing up at his crystal cut bone structure.

"Nowhere."

You impulsively grab his hand, and start running.

* * *

><p>You both barely make it inside the gates in time, you holding onto Severus' shoulders and laughing hysterically at his lack of piggybacking skills, Severus panting from your weight and ferociously grinning at your wild careening giggles.<p>

When you're about two steps into Hogwarts, he suddenly pretends to fall to his knees, clawing at his throat and gasping.

"Will – not – make – it," he dramatically says, his hand shakily reaching out in front of him to the group of students whose eyes are on both of you, giggling and sparkling and _alive_.

Your laughter at this point has taken over your whole body, and you lightly slap the top of his head, causing him to loudly moan and collapse on the stone floor, you sitting on top of him uttering guttural cackles that seemingly startle the whole population of Hogwarts.

There are maybe 50 wide eyes staring at both of you, but _all that matters is him_.

And then it all collapses. You say goodbye to Severus, who is smirking at you, and make your way over to your waiting Gryffindors, Sirius glaring daggers at you.

"What do you think you're _doing_," he says, spitting the words at you, James behind him looking furiously at your figure, "He despises all that every Gryffindor _stands _for."

And then suddenly they're both striding across the quad, taking Severus by surprise, wands out, James (who for some reason seems enraged) suspending him in the air and exposing Severus' dingy underwear, you screaming and running after them.

You know he wouldn't have said the word if James hadn't cockily and cruelly asked you out, feeding off of Severus' weak spot; you know his eyes wouldn't be ringing with pain if it was just the bullying. Severus Snape was stronger than that.

But then the word. And then your world goes black.

* * *

><p>You're sitting in the Gryffindor Commons room two weeks later, the girls from your dormitory now back to being your friends, now that you hate Slytherin, giggling and gossiping around you as you stare blankly at the red and gold decorated wall that you <em>despise<em>.

You hear the noise of the Fat Lady swinging open and you turn your head, your eyes meeting hazel as he walks into the room, your head quickly swivelling around to try and regain that apathy that you so despised in him.

You pray in your head silently: _please don't walk over here, please don't walk over here, _but when a hush forms around the girls sitting near you, and you warily lift your head to meet his burning gaze, you know that no God exists that listens to you.

"We need to talk," Potter says, huskily, staring at your rigid back and pursed lips, "Alone."

Normally you would have stood up and screamed him out in front of everyone, but you just casually lift your eyes to his face, and mock him.

"Sure," you say sarcastically, getting up and folding your arms defensively in front of your body, "Whatever you want, right?"

Potter rolls his eyes, and you feel waves of anger pouring off of him as (you're sure) he contemplates going back to the mutual silence pact that had been going on for weeks.

He starts walking towards the boy's staircase, and you debate for a second not following him, but you feel your feet moving unconsciously, so you swallow hard and grit your teeth.

You walk up the staircase in silence, trying not to glance at his tight ass as he stonily climbs in front of you. You feel suffocated by the silence, but you're used to it, so you just ... suffocate.

Then you're standing in front of his room too quickly, and he's opening the door to let you in, and it's the first time you've been in his room.

You're somewhat flabbergasted to see Sirius sitting in a corner at a desk, apparently writing some homework assignment (in your full Hogwarts education, you've never seen the infamous Sirius Black doing any sort of schoolwork) beside piles of dirty laundry. There's a peeling picture of naked Veelas dancing on the far wall, and you glance around at the obsessive amount of Quidditch posters near the bed that you clearly identify as James'.

"What is _she _doing here? The Slytherin _lover_?"

You startle, and stare over at the sight of Sirius, who is glaring with a ferocity and toxicity that should be left to the demigods, at James, who places his hand on the small of your back and guides you to his side, you unconsciously letting him.

"I have to talk to her."

"No you don't! She's a cold-hearted _bitch_! The entirety of the Gryffindor grade knows that! You don't have to say anything _to her_!"

The anger radiating off of both boys is palpable, and you feel yourself shrinking slightly beside James, wishing that you had just started screaming at him in the Commons room. You can handle an irate James – you're used to that – but Sirius is famously known to be a loose cannon.

"Fuck off _now_, Padfoot," James snarls back at Sirius, whose fists are clearly shaking. He flings open the door that you both came through, making an ushering motion to the boy standing on the other side of the room, "Don't make me say it again."

A silent message is exchanged between the two of them that you don't understand, and then suddenly Sirius is striding out of the room, slamming the door shut with gusto, leaving an empty awkward pocket of silence.

James drops his hand from the small of your back, where it had been resting, and tousles his hair with an exaggerated sigh. You stand beside him, uncomfortable in your new surroundings.

He moves forward and drops into the chair in front of the desk that is clearly marked as his, from the burns on it reading "Prongs", "James the sexGod" and "Potter Rules!". He motions for you to sit on his bed, but you eye up the place where the boy you consider your nemesis sleeps, and you shake your head in a 'no.'

"I don't want you to hate me forever," James says, his eyes burning into yours as you try to avoid his eye contact, "Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge fan. You stand for everything that I dislike:" He ticks his fingers off "schoolwork, rules, and keening. Normally I wouldn't even give a shit if you liked me or not, but Remus told me that I ought to do this."

"Oh wow," you say, your eyes looking up at the ceiling in exasperation at his nerve, "You're amazing at apologies there, Potter."

"It's not an apology, _Evans_," he retorts angrily, his shaggy hair falling into his bespectacled eyes, "Why in _fuck's name_ would I be apologizing to you when I was _right _all along?"

You laugh in disbelief.

"Don't just stand there and laugh, and look like the martyred Saint of kindness who wanted Gryffindor and Slytherin to reunite. I saved you from a lifetime of misery. He always thought of you as a _mudblood_, you just were too much in love with him to see it."

You jump forward and with a resounding *Crack* slap Potter straight across the face, the boy looking as if Shock just painted itself on his cheekbones.

"You _tortured him_ in front of the school," you reply, seething, watching as Potter stares at you, mouth gaping, "You played on every single insecurity he ever had – you _cruelly _asked me out in front of him – you hung him _in the air_."

"He still called you a mudblood."

You freeze, and to your horror you feel tears starting to well up in your eyes, but you grit your teeth and just stare at the boy cockily tilting his head at you.

"If anything, you should be giving me an apology," he says, then raises his hand to silence you as you start to speak, "But wait. What was that? Why in the world would one of Snivellus' insecurities be _me_ asking _you_ out?"

Time slows down partially, and you feel your pulse thudding in your ears.

"I can't handle this right now," you breathily say, avoiding his eye contact, and reaching for the door, "I really can't."

Potter just laughs, and you stop your motion angrily.

"What, you think that I had a _crush _on you, is that it, _Potter_? You think that I _wanted_ you in some sickening way for the entirety of our Hogwarts career?"

By now you're screaming at him, full on raging, and you know that your angry shouts will be echoing down to the Gryffindor Commons room.

"I never said that you had a _crush _on me, Lily," James yells back indignantly, getting up and striding over to where you are yelling at him, your hands in tight balls of anger.

"That's what you just insinuated, you prick! You just said that I would rather have you over _Severus_, you just insinuated that I always liked _you _more! How dare you! After all that you've put me through!"

"After all that _I've _put you through! What about all that you've put this house through?" James retorts, his face red and furious, "We've been made a laughing stock because the girl that the Slytherins tortured, ... and I mean _tortured _over her blood ancestry still hung out with the Slytherin who was behind it all!"

"That's a lie!" you rampage back at him, riotously glaring at his face, "You're making this _shit _up!"

"Why? Think about it, Lily! How do you think that Severus stayed _alive in Slytherin? _Do you really think that they just accepted a half-blood?" James roars in your face, and for a second you feel breathless.

"Yes," you say, quieter, your eyes meeting his, pleading, "Yes."

"You've made us all look like _idiots _for years, because you're too fucking _stupid _and_ stubborn _to listen to anyone else's advice! The reason why Severus remained your friend was because _they told him to_!"

"No, you're lying," you say back, a bit of spark remaining in your voice, "You're making this shit up. James, stop it. You're making it up."

"I'm not making it up you stupid, _stupid _troll of a girl! Sirius' brother, Regulus, told us! And you _wouldn't _listen! Severus was eventually going to have to call you a mudblood to _prove his loyalty to Slytherin_, or else lose all his social standing in that house! It was just a _game_ for them, don't you fucking understand?"

"No," you say, and tears are starting to tumble out of your eyes, "You liar."

You both are silent, staring at each other, you starting to hiccup out of anger and sadness.

"HE LOVED ME!" you suddenly roar in James' face, James standing frozen and stoic before you, "He loved me, you piece of shit! He told me so!"

"We loved you," James says quietly, staring intensely at you as you break down into sobs, "_I_ loved you. He lied."

* * *

><p>And suddenly his arms are circling around you, and you don't want them there, this boy who you've always secretly crushed on (let's be honest now), and you're raging against him, raging and raging and raging, twisting and turning and shuddering, but he's holding onto you as if <em>you're possessed<em>.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."

And you're crying and crying and crying.

* * *

><p>The next morning you miss breakfast, belatedly swinging into the Great Hall for lunch, sideswiping the whispers and stares that seem to accompany you everywhere.<p>

You take a seat beside Dorcas, who smiles encouragingly at your dark circles and shitty skin condition.

"Hey Lily!"

You smile half-heartedly back at her, and grab a glass of orange juice, your stomach too upset and unnerved by the emotional display from last night to swallow anything more.

Across from you, Marlene starts coughing furiously on her scone.

"Are you okay?" you ask worriedly, watching Emmeline's eyes get bigger from beside her, and then you turn your head and nearly crack your skull against Severus, who is looking down at you.

"What do you want?" you roll your eyes dramatically and turn away from him, trying to calm your racing heart. _Why the fuck is he over here._

"Can I talk to you?"

"No."

And the whole Gryffindor table has gone hushed, and it's starting to lead over to the Hufflepuffs, who are starting to point and watch.

"It's over, Severus," you say, feeling horrible and not meeting his eyes, "We're done."

You see his fists clenching, and you close your eyes, your back turned to him, and wish that it was all just _undone_.

Severus is still standing beside you, apparently frozen in disbelief.

You see out of the corner of your eye James getting up from his spot at the other end of the table, and making his way over to you.

"Is he bothering you, Lily?" James asks, standing behind you, Severus tense as a lightning bolt.

You put your head down on the table in exhaustion, and suddenly you hear Severus scream a curse, James stumbling out a half-assed Protego in response.

And you've whipped around and stood up, and the two of them are duelling in the middle of the hall, students screaming and ducking for cover.

_Where the fuck is Dumbledore_? you panickedly think in your head, glancing around at the empty teacher's table, which is occupied only by Dumbledore himself, who is looking interestedly at the two of them.

"Stop it. _STOP IT!" _

And you're screaming and running between the two of them, because apparently all the Gryffindors have lost their nerve, the only ones with bravado being Sirius, Remus and Peter all standing up and getting ready to fight behind James, the Slytherins making their way behind Severus, who is clearly more skilled than his opponent.

"You'll hurt him you _asshole_!" you scream out from your position in front of James, Severus glaring at you in anger and hurt, "Stop it!"

"He won't hurt me!" James says angrily, looking down at you in a mix of disbelief, then making to shove his way through your human barrier, "I'll _kill _him!"

"You will do _nothing _of the sort!"

"So this is it, huh Lily," Severus says, snarling at you, Mundungus, Fletcher, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy poised and ready behind him, "Him. Instead of me."

"Fuck off," you spit at him, with a bit less anger than you should have, staring at the boy who is looking at you as if you've crushed his entire world, "You ruined it. _Ruined _us, Severus. It's not James' fault."

"You're on a first-name _basis with him now_?"

And suddenly Sirius takes the opportunity and lunges in front of you, screaming an Expelliarmus, and the two of them are ferociously battling with more anger than James had.

"You piece of _shit_, you stinking little _idiot_," Sirius is roaring at Snape, who is busy blocking himself with defensive spells, "You _fucking _losers! You bigots really think you can destroy the world!"

"Your brother certainly thinks so," Snape drawls back, and with that one comment, Sirius glances over at the Slytherin table, where a miniature version of himself stares wide-eyed back at the boy.

And Snape's stupefy isn't blocked, and Sirius goes flying into the wall, and you scream, James' hands and arms going over your body protectively, and the Slytherins are lunging forwards, and the Gryffindors are _finally _getting out from the table, and spells are flying _everywhere_, and _why the fuck is Dumbledore doing nothing?_

Then the Great Hall doors open with a bang, and Dumbledore strides in with McGonagall and Sprout (and you swear you nearly get whiplash from the way your head turns between where you thought he was sitting at the Head table and his dramatic entrance inside) and roars:

"Back to your seats. NOW."

And everyone is scrambling to avoid being seen, and James is pulling you towards his spot at the table, and somehow you're cramming yourself beside him, Sirius stumbling to the other spot beside him, his arm still protectively over your shoulder.

Dumbledore is glaring so fiercely at the entire student population that you actually can't handle it, so you bury your face in James' robes and let him hold you there.

"This is the _only _time that you will _ever _be let off for duelling in Hogwarts' grounds!" Dumbledore's voice soars over the population, and you close your eyes and bury yourself deeper in James, "This behaviour is _unacceptable_! If you are ever caught in a duel between another student, you will be _instantly expelled! _Am I _clear?_"

Nobody responds, and you feel Dumbledore's gaze rest on you and James.

"The day that Hogwarts allows a battle within its grounds will be a dark one indeed. I will not allow it during this school year. Blood wars are a contentious issue, but my position stands – a witch or wizard is created because of destiny, not ancestry. If any of you have problems with this, your parents can contact the Board and deal with me ... _directly_."

"Now, you're all dismissed from lunch early today. Leave, and ponder your actions," you feel his gaze sweep across the room, "Do not make the mistake of choosing your _side _too early."

* * *

><p>You're sitting in the Commons room, beside James (because apparently now everyone thinks you're <em>his<em>), who is glaring at the red and gold parchment across from the two of you with a ferocity that ought to start a fire. The rest of Gryffindor has since returned to classes, but you've convinced James that yes, sometimes you are 'bad', and that playing hooky for the rest of the day is not necessarily a horrible idea.

You're startled by how quickly you've been included in Gryffindor post-duel conversation, how easily Sirius accepted you because you stood in front of James and on 'their side', how fast Gryffindor realigned themselves around you, to protect you. But then again, the ferocity and loyalty of the house systems at Hogwarts was legendary, and you're more surprised by how quickly you and James have become friends, as if you always were, in some strange way. How quickly Severus fades, when you're around him.

"Did you see the way that they all were going to jump on us, after Sirius was flung into the wall," James comments again for about the hundredth time, you stretching out, then leaning your head against his shoulder, "It was going to be all out war."

The reason why, you realize in your head, you now want to be his friend – are his friend – are maybe 'more' than his friend – is because you recognize that he stood up for you, in a way that Severus never had. And he always was your friend, you just ignored him more than he did.

"Maybe not," you say contemplatively, closing your eyes and sighing, "We don't know that for sure."

You feel James smirk, and you roll your eyes at him, tilting your head upwards.

"I'm just being an _optimist_, _Jamesiepoo_," you sarcastically retort, dropping your head back down onto his shoulder, "You might want to consider taking it up."

He chuckles, and suddenly grabs your hand. You're startled by his motion, and you lift your head, revelling in the way his hand is huge compared to yours – and isn't smooth, but callused. And the way that your hands fit together, like true puzzle pieces, rather than just gliding against each other.

"I love you," he says quietly, and your heart stops.

"What?" you say, flabbergasted, your eyes wide open in shock. He turns around to face you, pulling you into his lap, and staring deep into your eyes.

"I've loved you, Lily Evans, since the first day that I met you. Since the first fight, the first horrible one where you called me a dick and stormed off with your friends. I loved you even when you loved Severus, I loved you because you were the only girl in the world who would stand up to me."

"You're bullshitting me," you say, laughing and trying to pull out of his grasp, James grinning at you and leaning down to peck your cheek, "You're _lying_!"

"I'm not, I swear. I'm being serious! I'm spewing out heartfelt shit that girls like!"

"It's not working on me," you reply, giggling and twisting in his lap, James looking down at you as if you were a bottle of joy, "I'm not a regular girl."

"I've realized that," James says dramatically, you hitting his head with a thwack that makes him burst into loud chuckles, the two of you entwined in glory on the couch.

And yes, you're moving too fast, you know that, the fight was just a couple of hours ago, but you see the world crumbling and you want to be standing in the ruins with the boy who cried wolf.

You feel as if someone has taken a needle, filled it with sunshine, and pumped it through your veins. You can't get enough of the fact that his thick arms are entwined around your body, the fact that his freckles are up close and personal, and the idea that his beautiful hazel eyes are staring into your soul. But more so, the fact that he isn't bored by you, the fact that he wants to be here with you.

"So?"

"What?" James asks, laughing at your twisted face and pursed lips.

"Well, James Potter, what are you going to do about it?"

"About what?"

You cross your arms in false anger and try to look mad at him, but he just chuckles and flips you over, you shrieking in a bit of indignation and a lot of delight, so that his body is languidly covering yours on the couch.

And his face is very, very close to yours, and you smell the scent of outdoor wood and root beer on him, a combination which strangely works, and you've gone a bit quiet, and his eyes have turned a bit less hollow.

"About what?" he whispers into your ear, your body involuntarily slightly arching, eliciting a chuckle from him and an embarrassed scowl from you.

"About the fact that you love me, you dolt."

And his hands are trailing around your fire laced hair, and his thumbs are tracing down your cheekbones, and even if you wanted to, you probably couldn't move.

"I'll wait."

"You'll wait?"

"I'll be your bestest of best friends," he says, still laughing and suddenly rubbing his nose against yours, you squirming with giggles at his movements, "And then we'll get married and have loads of little black and redheaded little children."

You purse your lips up at him, a bit ticked off that he thinks that his plan will actually work, and suddenly you feel yourself rising into the air, and you shriek as he lifts you up and carries you around like a sack of potatoes on his back.

"Potter!" you scream, laughing as the stress from the whole horrible week fades off of you, because of this crazy boy, "Let me go!"

"And then," James says dramatically, lifting his free hand up to his forehead as if scouting out the Commons room, "We'll go on crazy wild adventures through life!"

"Noooo!"

"That's what you'll say at first, m'dam, but alas! To no avail! Lily, my dear sweet Lily flower – we are destined for greatness!"

And you're howling with laughter, clutching onto his shoulder, terrified that he'll drop you, and then he lets you go down gently, the laughter fading from both of you as you stand in front of each other, James' hair drooping into his face, you gently reaching up to fix it back in place.

Something comes over you, some sort of indistinguishable emotion, and tears are running down your face, and he's kissing your cheeks, and your arms are wrapped around his neck and he's spinning you, spinning and spinning and spinning you around as if you were a light catcher. And thunder is pounding in your ears, and you're laughing harder than you have in your whole lifetime, and brilliant knives are stabbing down your veins, and you feel on fire and alive and spinning and spinning and spinning ...

* * *

><p>I'm coming home, I'm coming home.<br>Tell the World that I'm coming home.  
>Let the rain wash away,<p>

All the pain of yesterday.  
>I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes.<br>I'm coming home, I'm coming home.  
>Tell the World that I'm coming ... home.<p>

- Diddy, Coming Home


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